MA State Dinosaur Will Be Revealed Thursday

FRAMINGHAM, MA — It's a day 201 million years in the making.

On Thursday, Framingham state Rep. Jack Lewis and the Museum of Science in Boston will reveal the Massachusetts state dinosaur following a month-long survey open to all residents.

Lewis offered residents two dinosaur choices, which have pre-Pilgrim ties to the Bay State: the Podokesaurus holyokensis and the Anchisaurus polyzelus. Both were small dinosaurs whose fossils have been found in the Connecticut River valley — the "holyokensis" in Podokesaurus' name refers to Mount Holyoke, which is near where the reptile's fossils were first discovered in 1911 by geologist Mignon Talbot.

Lewis opened the survey intending to get local students interested in science and the legislative process. Following the reveal on Thursday, Lewis will officially file legislation to enshrine the state's first official dinosaur. He has the backing of state Rep. Mindy Domb (D-Amherst) and state Sen. Jo Comerford (D-Northampton).

During Thursday's event, Mt. Holyoke College paleontologist Mark McMenamin, an educator at Amherst College's Beneski Museum, will talk about the Podokesaurus and Anchisaurus, and their significance to Massachusetts. You can register for the online event hosted by the Museum of Science here.